“I’ve tried everything, but no matter what I do, I don’t lose weight!”

Is this you?

Have you tried time and again to lose weight, but found that even with consistent changes to eating and exercise, week after week, nothing happened?

Before you despair, consider asking your doctor or a licensed dietician about testing you for insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is increasingly common, and if untreated can lead to type 2 diabetes.

The website of the Royal Australian College of General Practicioners describes the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) “the gold standard for the diagnosis of diabetes and pre-diabetes”.

It recommends administering the OGTT when the results of fasting or random blood glucose are equivocal): a fasting reading of 5.5–6.9; random 5.5–11.0 mmol/L.

Clinical testing is the only way to discern whether or not you are insulin resistant, although other factors, including difficulty losing weight; weight gain that is disproportionally around the waist; family history of diabetes; high cholesterol and elevated blood pressure are often correlated with insulin resistance.

If you have ruled out any medical reason for your
weight not changing (and increasing age is not a medical reason – while many
people, especially post-menopausal women, find that they gain weight as they
age, do not be fobbed of with “it’s an age thing”), it may be worth trying
something different.

The 5/2 diet, popularized by journalist and medical
doctor Michael Mosley, has been found highly effective by some of those who’ve
used it. Even I, one of the world’s most enthusiastic snackers, found I could
comply with it and lose weight. https://thefastdiet.co.uk/

Some studies have found High Intensity Interval
Training (HIIT) an effective aid in weight loss. This involves short and very
intense bursts of exercise interspersed with easier, recovery periods. Find out
more at https://www.fast-exercises.com/. Like the
5.2 diet, we have Michael Mosley to thank for the publicity that HIIT has
received lately.